Center filling fork loom attachment



. May 29, 1945.-

w. B. GALLANT, JR I CENTER FILLING FORK LOOM ATTACHMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 16, 1942 INVENTOR.

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FIG." 6'

. W. B. GALLANT, JR

CENTER FILLING FORK LOOM ATTACHMENT May 29, 1.9fl5.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 16, 1942 FIG. 12B

Patented May 29, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CENTER FILLING FORK LOOM ATTACHMENT Walter B. Gallant, Jr., Lowell, Mass., assignor to Newmarket Manufacturing Company, Lowell, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application February 16, 1942, Serial No. 431,009 (01. 139-228) means setting inaction mechanism for stopping Claims.

This invention relates to automatic looms of the Draper type in which'there is a magazine or battery for bobbins with bobbin transfer mechanism. In this type of loom there is a filling feeler which engages the bobbin, or the yarn wound thereon, in a shuttle, in such a manner that when the filling on the bobbin is near exhaustion, the feeler initiates action-whereby a full bobbin replaces the almost empty one in the shuttle.

Such devices are shOWn in patents to Brown, Nos. 1,593,426 and 1,599,806. I

Some of these looms have side fork filling feelers but this invention applies to those. having a center fork filling feeler of the type'shown in patent to Lindsjo, No. 1,865,930. The purpose of this is to indicate a broken pick or filling thread and to set or start mechanism to stop the loom. The magazine filling feeler is not intended to stop the loom but is intended to replace a nearly exhausted bobbin with a full bobbin While the center fork filling feeler is intended to stop the loom when there is a broken filling thread,

In such a loom, the center fork filling feeler stop motion includes a fork located near the middle of the lay and made up of prongs carried by a prong holder'pivoted on a'bracket and carryinga crank shaft which moves with the prongs. In normal operation, the probes are held up by the filling thread which passes under them but if this thread sags or breaks, the prongs and the crank shaft drop down a certain distance.

However, with certain kinds of yarn especially silk, rayon or fine cotton, on the firstpick after transfer, when the shuttle with the new full bobbin is first picked, there is a tendency to slackness which is sufficient to allow the center filling feeler fork to drop and stop the loom.

The object of this invention is to put the center fork filling feeler out of action only during that particular pick and to allow it to resume operation immediately thereafter.

I accomplish this by one or two simple connections between the mechanism for transferring the bobbins and the center fork filling feeler mechanism for stopping the loom when there is a broken or a slack pick.

For convenience in this specification, the word front means that part of the loom where the cloth beam is located and back that part-where the warp beam is located. The term forward means moving towards the front and backward means moving towards the back. It is assumed that the magazine or battery is on the right of one facing the front of the loom and looking toward the back, and that left is the opposite side. The word indicate or indication applied to the filling or bobbin transfer mechanism means setting in action the devices for transferring a bobbin, and as applied to the center filling feeler fork,

the loom when the filling breaks or is too slack.

In thedrawings, Fig. '1 is an'isometric view looking generally from the front towards the back, showing the principal parts "of an automatic loom of the type to which my device is attached.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of a center filling feeler fork of a well 'known type such as shown by Lindsjo, No. 1,865,930 with its connections.

Fig. 3 is an elevation showing the connections from the transfer filling feeler to the mechanism for setting the transfer devices.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the hunter, knock off plunger arm, cam and slide rod and other parts in their normal position during the running of the loom.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but showing the knock off plunger arm and cam lifted so that the arm clearsthe hunter, this being the position of the parts when my device operates to lift the arm out of the path of thebunter.

Fig. 6 is an isometric view of certain well known parts which connect the starting rodwith the bobbin transfer mechanism.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of my knock ofi plunger locking lever moving member in its normal position while the loom is'running, with its lower jaw resting on the free end of the locking lever.

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7 but showing the lower jaw of my locking'lever moving member resting on the shipper stand instead of on the free end of th locking lever.

Fig. 9 is an isometric view looking from the back toward the front and showingthe details of'the transfer feeler which con-trols bobbin transfer and its connections as well as the locking lever, its holding hook and my locking lever moving member, the parts being shown in th normal running position of the loom.

Fig; 10 is a plan view of the shipper stand with the knock off lever, the slide guide cam locking lever and my locking lever moving member together with the shipper handle and other related leased and the slide' guide cam and locking lever are about to return to their normal positions, the returning spring for the plunger rod being omitted.

Figs. 12A and 12B are diagrams showing the position of the shuttle on what might be called the transfer pick and the first pick after transfer.

Applicants improvement is designed for use on a Draper loom or loom having a batterys and filling changing devices similar to those shown in the Brown Patents Nos. 1,593,426 and 1,599,806

and having devices for detecting a break or slackness in the filling at or near the center of the lay and to stop the loom, similar to those shown in patent to Lindsjo No. 1,865,930. Such old structures and other old loom constructions are no part of my invention.

The following center filling fork mechanism parts are similar t those shown in patent to Lindsjo No. 1,865,930.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, F is the stationary frame and L is the lay which carries the center fork crank shaft 38. Attached to center fork knock off rod. BI] is a center fork cam 3| with the usual spring 32 and knock off collar 33. The knock off rod is reciprocated by a push rod 35 reciprocated by devices 34 from a filling cam A of a well known type such as shown by Lindsjo.

This center fork knock off rod 30 causes the center fork cam 3| to reciprocate and also causes the center fork bunter K to reciprocate transversely while the loom is running except when there is a slack or broken filling thread T which allows the center fork crank shaft arm 36 to drop into a recess 31 in the center fork cam 3|.

When this happens, th parts are so timed and positioned that the center fork bunter K is held in such a position that, as the lay moves forward, it will engage a center fork knock off plunger arm B carried by a holder 40 at the end of a knock off plunger rod 4|, Figs. 4 and 5, which passes through a slide or guide 43, which includes a cam part 42, and is pivoted at I4| to a knock off lever D.

I will call this combination a slide guide cam as it serves several purposes. It is carried by one end I04 of locking lever II movable horizontally on a vertical pivot on shipper stand I4 as shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 10.

The other end "12 of locking lever II extends normally under the finger I0| of locking lever holding hook I!) as shown by the full lines in Fig. '7.

The slide guide cam 43 is slidable on knock off plunger rod 4| without holder 40 and arm B, there being a slide cam spring 44 to keep the slide guide cam 43 out in contact with the holder 40.

The front end 45 of the knock off plunger rod 4| as shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 10 is pivoted to one end I4I of knock off lever D, the other end of which is held against shipper handle I3 and against loose motion by a spring 20 while knock off lever D is pivoted to the filling motion shipper stand I4 at I42 as shown in Fig. 10.

A locking lever holding hook I0 is pivoted to stand I4 and has an arm I00 which extends down at about a right angle opposite to a trip member 2| carried by the lay L while its finger IBI normally rests on one end I02 of locking lever II pivoted to the stand I4. The shipper spring 20 is preferably attached to this locking lever holding hook ID in such a way that while hook It is normally kept down by gravity, it is prevented from rattling by the spring 20.

When th filling under the prongs of the center fork C is loose or broken, the bunter K engages the plunger arm B and as the lay L moves forward, the knock off plunger rod 4|, slide guide cam 43, filling motion knock off lever D and shipper handle |3 are so moved as to stop the loom and, at the same time, the othe or free end I02 of the locking lever slips under the finger IIlI of the locking lever holding hook II] which finger drops in front of end I02 so that hook It holds these parts in the loom stopped position until the loom is started manually. See Fig. 8.

It is found that, especially with silk, rayon and other fine goods, on the first pick after transfer where th thread from the new bobbin in the shuttle is held outside of the selvage, there is a tendency for this thread, after transfer as it passes under the center fork, to be loose thus r allowing the center fork crank shaft 36 to drop and engage the cam recess 31 thus holding the bunter K in position to engage plunger arm 13 and thus to stop the loom.

The purpose of my device is to provide mech anism which will come into action only before, during and after the first pick after transfer whereby the slide guide cam 43 with the knock off plunger rod 4| and plunger arm B will be lifted out of the way of the bunter K while the lay is moving from bottom to front center and the loom will not be stopped and so that after such pick, these parts will go back into place and continue to function to stop the loom whenever at any other time there is a looseness or break on any pick except this particular first pick after transfer.

I utilize the fact that when the slide guide cam 43, with its cam part 42, is moved back by holder 40 and rod 4|, being pushed back by bunter K or in any other way, it passes over a pin fixed to the stand I4 which causes the holder 40 and plunger arm B and that end of the knock off plunger rod 4| to rise out of the way of the bunter K.

Broadly speaking, I accomplish my purpose by providing a pin P in the locking lever holding hook I!) to which I attach one end of the shipper spring 20, together with a knock off plunger looking lever moving member M which I pivot at one end to an elongated starting rod arm stud I l which also serves as a pivot for the filling feeler slide 3 all being carried by the starting rod arm I6 which is moved forward when transfer filling feeler I3 moves rod I, and lifting lever 2 pivoted to slide 3 to engage the vertical arm of filling cam follower trip 4 as shownin Fig. 3 in a manner similar to the filling transfer mechanism shown in patent to Brown No; 1,599,806.

Locking lever moving member M has an upper jaw 83 and a lower jaw 84 forming a mouth 85 which goes around the locking lever holding hook pin P, which projects from locking lever holding hook IE1. Lower jaw 84 normally rests on free end IIJZ of the locking lever |I except when this lever moving member M is moved forward by the action of the transfer filling feeler l8 and rod I in locking together the parts 2, 3, and 4, Figs. 3, 9, 10, so that the transfer filling feeler slide 3 and the starting rod arm IS with its stud H are moved forward from the full to the dotted line position in Fig. 10 thus turning starting rod 50 and setting the old and well known parts 5|, 53, 54, 55, 56, 51, 58, and 59 for transfer. When stud I1 is thus moved forward to the dotted line position in Fig. 10, the lower jaw 84 of this lever M drops in front of free end I02 of the locking lever II, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 7 and during transfer, jaw 84 of moving member M moves end I02 back to the full line position in Fig. 8. This backward movement of end I02 causesthe other and H14 of locking. lever it and the slide cam 43 to move forward and up over pin 84,. Fig. 5,. but withoutv moving the knock off plunger rod 4| forward and therefore without stopping the loom.) See Figs. 4, 5; 6,. 7, 8, and. 11..

Without myilocking lever moving member M and connections. when there is a loose or'broken pick after transfer, the center'fillin-g fork. C

I The filling transfer mechanism is an old and wel-lknown type similar to whatis shown in. bat-- out to Brown No. 1,599,806 of September 14, 19.26:.

In- Fig. 9 I show the well known arrangement of filling transafer feeler 18 with feeler rod, or actuator I, cam follower trip 4, which is con stantly reciprocating by means shown in Fig. l, and has a. vertical arm proximate slide or actuator 3 whichon indication of transfer is locked to trip 4 as shown in Figs. 1, 3, 9;. and 10.

In Figs. 1, l and 11 are shown the connections through arm IE to starting rod 53 and in Figs. 1 and 6 are shown the connections between starting rod and transfer hammer 53 These parts are well known and are similar to those shown by Brown, No. 1,599,806. They include the hunter 56 on the lay and the dog 5-5 carried by the transfer hammer 59 together with the shuttle feeler protector device 54 attached to sleeve 53 which is carried by arm 5i on rod 5ll.and is normally held down by spring 52. Fig. 6.

With the shuttle at the left or on the ride away from the battery, the transfer feeler feels analmost empty bobbin and through the feeler rod or'actuator I lifts the lifting lover or operating member 2. which is pivoted to the feeler slide or actuator 3 into a notch or opening in a housing in the. vertical arm of the filling cam follower trip and then forward and this motion causes the transfer of the bobbin and resets all the parts so that onthe next pick after transfer..without my locking lever moving member M, if there is a slackness in the filling, the center fork will stop the loom. i

: Figs.:l2A and 12B- are diagrams: showing the timing of different movements. The front is. at the left and the back is at the right andthe crank movement is clockwise as shown by the short arrows. For convenience, starting: at-bottom center at X, IZA, with the shuttle. on the side away from the magazine, indication of near exhaustion of filling would be in the sector marked I and at the end of indication between front, top and back centre, the parts 4', 3, and M, Figs. 3 and 10, move forward or from back 3' to front F as shown by the arrow, Fig. 12A and from the full to the dotted line position in Figs; 7 and 10. Between top, back and bottom centre, the shuttle is moving toward the-magazine side and forward, this being the transfer pick.

The. transfer is accomplished'in the sector marked T, Fig. 12B and when this is about finished, 4. 5, and M move back as shown by the long and short arrows so that at back centre, M

has moved I 02 thus lifting B aboveK, 5

and allowing hook f8 to drop into the locking position shown in Fig; 8.. The. shuttle in the meantime is moving dining top, back and bottom centre, as the first pick after transfer, from the magazine side "to the off magazine side past. the

inoperative center filling feeler fork. C F 'which as shown by the line of dashes. remains out. of action until, as shown in Fig, 12B, between-bottom and front centre. at the dotted sector marked R, locking lever holding hook trip member 2-! engages. arm. Hi0 thus raising hook HI and looking lever moving member M. as shown by the dottedylines in. 1.1,. thereby allowing allv the eenteriilling feele-r parts to resume their usual positions.

My purpose is to keep; knock off plunger rod arm'B out of the way of hunter K whilethe shuttle is traveling past the center fillingfeeler fork C until hook HI and member-Mrelease lockinglever l l whereupon spring 44 moves .43 back from pin 8|!- thus allowing B to drop. in front of K; Figs.4and 5.. v

As on the backward motion of the lay- L, the vertical arm of trip 4 moves forward and sets the transfer, locking lever "moving member M goes forward with starting rod arm l6 and slide 3 whereupon its lower jaw 84', as. shown by dotted lines in Fig. 'l,slips off the top of the'end Ill-2 of locking lever H so that the back edge of the law. 84;, on the next. forward motion of the lay which causes transfer, pushes that end lb! of locking lever ll back as shown in Fig. 8, and itsotherend I04 with the slide guidecam 43 forward thus lifting'the slide guide. cam 43 up on to pin all where it rests. This also liftsplunger rod 41 and arm B, Fig. 5. At the same time, the finger Ilil of hook 10 drops in front of that. end N2 of the locking lever l I and holds it, with the rest. of the slide guide cam 43, rod 4| and rod arm-B and other parts, so that the arm B is up out of the. 'way of the hunter K during that pick, which is the first pick after transfer, except as described and shown at sector Rr while the lay oes back and then forward. 1 Y

On this pick, when the lay comes forward after the shuttle. has been. picked across, the locking lever-holding hook. release screw or trip member 2|, Fig. 11, onthe lay hits the downwardly ex tending arm or end. I00 of the hook l0 andthis kicks up its other end with pin P; thus releasing locking lever II and locking lever moving member M both of which are returned to their normalpositions" by the shipper spring M1 and by compression spring 44 which surrounds the plunger rod 4|. See Fig. 10.

The upper jaw 83 of locking levermoving member M is so shaped and positioned that'when pin P is kicked up with hook l0, it engages and lifts jaww83 and also jaw 84 from in front of free end H12 of locking lever H allowing the locking lever H and slide guide cam 43150 return to normal position. Lower jaw 84 and hold down spring 8'! keep looking lever moving member M from flying up too far but'spring 81 can be omitted and spring 20 might be omitted as far as its purpose is to hold down hook l0 because gravity alone would return it and member M to their normal positions. i

When rod 50 turns lifting arm 5|,the dog 55 is moved into position to be engaged by bunter 56 to effect transfer. Spring 58 on the transfer has the usual well known function of returning the transfer hammer to normal position when released and spring 52 resets the protector device 54 and slide 3. This causes stud I1 and member M to move free arm H12 back and slide guide cam 43 forward. This holds plunger rod arm B out of the way of bunter K, until the new bobbin is picked across laying the filling in the center fork. Upon the next forward movement of the lay, 2| hits! as shown in Fig. 11.

The essence of my invention is the locking lever moving member M which is of such a kind and is so attached to some movable member of the bobbin transfer devices that during transfer it so engages some part of the center filling feeling devices as to prevent them from stopping the loom during the first pick after transfer. As shown, it is released by pin P in the locking lever hook I0 but it might be released by some other connection to locking lever hook I0 or to some other part of the machine.

I claim:

1. In an automatic bobbin-changing magazine loom including a stationary frame with a shipper stand fixed thereto, a shipper handle to stop the loom and a knock off lever pivoted to the shipper stand and engaging the shipper handle, a forwardly and rearwardly reciprocating lay, bobbin transfer devices including a starting rod arm pivoted on the frame which arm is moved toward the front when the transfer mechanism is set and toward the back during transfer together with a center filling feeler fork and stop motion devices including a hunter on the lay and devices to reciprocate it transversely, a knock off arm carried by a plunger rod pivotally connected to the knock off lever, the plunger rod passing through a slide guide cam having a downwardly projecting cam face and being carried by one end of a locking lever pivoted on the shipper stand upon the free other end of which locking lever rests the holding finger of a holding hook, which hook is pivoted to the frame, the slide guide cam 1 being slidable on the plunger rod over a slide guide cam follower pin fixed to the shipper stand, and a returning spring for the slide guide cam and the locking lever; the combination of said holding hook; and starting rod arm; with a lifting pin extendin transversely through the holding finger of the holding hook; a locking lever moving member pivoted at one end to the starting rod arm and at the other end having a mouth with a lower jaw which rests on the free end of the locking lever and an upper jaw which extends over the lifting pin in said hook; and a hold down spring to keep the holding hook and locking lever moving members in position.

- 2. In an automatic bobbin-changing magazine loom of the class described which includes loom stopping mechanism operable by a center filling feeler fork, a locking lever and a holding hook to lock the loom stopping mechanism in inoperative position when the loom is stopped by the center filling feeler fork, and transfer filling feeler devices which include a member movable from back to front on indication of near exhaustion of thread on a bobbin in a shuttle; a locking lever moving member 50 attached to the movable member as to so move the locking lever that the holding hook and the locking lever lock the 100m stopping mechanism in inoperative position during part of the first pick after transfer; and means to release the hook and latch after that pick.

3. In an automatic bobbin-changing magazine loom of the class described which includes loom stopping mechanism operable by a center filling feeler fork, and means to lock the loom stoppin mechanism in inoperative position when the loom is stopped by the center filling feeler fork, and transfer filling feeler devices which include a member movable from front to back on indication of near exhaustion of thread on a bobbin in a shuttle; a locking lever to lock the 100m stopping mechanism so operable by the transfer filling feeler devices as to move the loom stopping mechanism and to lock it in inoperative position during part of the first pick after transfer; and means to release the loom stopping mechanism after that pick.

4. In an automatic bobbin changing loom having a frame and a lay, of the class described, which includes loom stopping mechanism operable by a center filling feeler fork, and transfer filling feeler devices to replace bobbins in a shuttle, which devices include a member movable from back to front on indication and near exhaustion of thread on a bobbin in a shuttle and from front to back on transfer; the combination with a look ing lever including a hook pivoted to th frame near one end and having a releasing arm at that end and a holding finger at the other end, which finger normally rests on the locking lever, to lock the loom stopping devices in inoperative position when the loom is stopped by the center fillin feeler fork; of a pin extending into the holding finger of the hook; and a locking lever moving member pivoted at one end to the movable member of the transfer filling feeler devices and at the other end having a mouth with a lower jaw which rests on the locking lever and an upper jaw which extends over-the pin of the holdin finger of the locking lever hook whereby on indication for transfer, the locking lever moving member is so moved by the movable member of the loom stopping mechanism that during transfer it moves the locking lever so that the holding finger of the hook drops into position to hold the locking lever and the loom stopping mechanism in inoperative position during part of the first pick after transfer; and means to engage its arm and to release the hook from the locking lever after that pick.

5. In an automatic bobbin changing loom having a frame and a lay, of the class described, which includes m stopping mechanism operable by a center filling feeler fork, and transfer filling feeler devices to replace bobbins in a shuttle, which devices include a member movable from back to front on indication and near exhaustion of thread on a bobbin in a shuttle and from front to back on transfer; the combination with a locking lever including a hook pivoted to the frame at one end and having a holding finger at the other end, which finger normally rests on the locking lever, to lock the loom stopping devices in inoperative position when the loom is stopped by the center filling feeler fork; of a pin extending transversely through the holding finger of the hook; and a locking lever moving member pivoted at one end to the movable member of the transfer filling feeler devices and at the other end having a mouth with a lower jaw which rests on the locking lever and an upper jaw which extends over the pin of the holding finger of the hook whereby on indication for transfer, the looking lever moving member so moves the locking lever that the holding finger of the hook drops into position to hold it during part of the first pick after transfer; and means to release the locking lever hook from the locking lever after that pick.

WALTER B. GALLANT, JR. 

